Primates, Humans, And Humans

The Gorilla beringei beringei or mountain gorilla, was first discovered on October 17th 1902, by a German officer named Captain Robert von Beringe (Berggorilla and Direkthilfe, 2002). Mountain gorillas play a large role in it’s particular ecosystem through consumption the gorillas control and maintain vegetation that is vital for a healthy environment not only for the primate but also other species that live in the environment as well. Since the discovery of the mountain gorilla much fascination has been drawn toward the species. However, the gentle creature’s population has had a sharp decline from Rwanda’s belief in sumu, poaching, human disease, and unregulated tourism. In efforts to revive the species population from extinction, persistent activism through worldly foundations are helping protect the mountain gorilla species.

While some Neotropical primate species use the forest floor extensively, others tend to exploit the ground only when necessary. A recent overview of ground use by Pitheciidae covered Pitheciinae (uacaris - Cacajao, cuxius - Chiropotes and sakis - Pithecia), but did not include titi monkeys (Callicebiinae: Callicebus, Cheracebus and Plecturocebus). However, unlike the generally high-canopy Pitheciinae, members of the Callibiinae often use low forest strata and disturbed fragments, putting them in closer contact with the ground, but the terrestrial repertoire of this group is so far unknown. We provide a comprehensive review that combines existing literature with unpublished data and field observations of terrestrial behavior to encompass a total of 72 titi monkey studies from 55 locations in South America.

Gogarten et al. (2012) conducted an observational study. They observed ten wild non-human primate populations across three continents to try to understand how seasonal differences in rainfall and resource availability could have an effect on mortality. While disease, starvation, predation and injuries can be the cause of primate death, these factors may be influenced by aspects of the environment like rainfall and resource availability which are influenced seasonally. Gogarten et al. (2012) investigated different hypothesis these included: Mortality is highly seasonal across species; mortality is higher during wet seasons or dry seasons; mortality is higher during periods of food scarcity; greater differences between seasons are related to

The expansion of civilization and advancement in technology has always been seen as betterment to the populations of the world. With this advancement we are finding that many more animal habitats are being threatened and often times destroyed, leading to the decline and in most severe cases the extinction of species. Among the World Wildlife Foundation’s endangered species list there are sixteen critically endangered species, three of those sixteen are gorillas. I will be addressing the condition of the Mountain Gorilla, a species that was predicted to “…be extinct by the end of the twentieth century” (WWF), but through a struggle for survival and with the intervention of man is expanding in population. I will be discussing the human factors that are causing the possible extinction of this species, future preventative steps that can be taken to protect these animals, and the importance of the protection of this species, as well as the importance of the protection of all primate species.

The Topic Chosen for this buzz session is the impacts humans have on Old Growth Forests in the Temperate Rainforest Biome with heavy emphasis on the deforestation of the Boreal Forest. In addition, the majority of the research will be focused in Canada with some comparisons to other Temperate Rainforests in different countries. Forests are a very important part of our planet; not only do they supply resources for humans, but they also provide food and shelter to many different species of animals, insects, birds and plants. Old Growth Forests are characterized by their population of all aged trees, logs scattered across the forest floor (Freedman et al., 2015, p. 347).

Unfortunately, the mountain gorilla is also known as one of four gorilla subspecies classified as critically endangered, with as few as 880 remaining in the wild today (Caulliad, 2014). One of the most prevalent threats to the mountain Gorilla population in today’s age is habitat loss. The mountain gorilla is found in two separate locations; the Virunga range of extinct volcanic mountains on the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda. While there are many national parks established to protect the mountain gorilla from losing their habitat such as the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, this area of gorilla sanctuary has been steadily decreasing since the 20th century. In 2004 in fact, more than 1,500 hectares of mountain gorilla habitat was illegally cleared by settlers in the Virunga National Park in the DRC (Caillaud, 2014). This continued habitat loss is detrimental for the survival of the mountain gorilla, which can eat up to 40 pounds of plant life per day. Severely limiting the amount of natural resources available to these gorillas increases the competition for food and drastically decreases the ability to sustain a large

Our Group is doing the Eastern Lowland Gorilla. There habitat is Tropical forest and jungles in mountainous regions in central Africa. The eastern lowland gorilla is an omnivorous animal, but the majority of it's diet is made up of eating fruit which the eastern lowland gorilla is known to travel vast distances through the forests to find. Due to their large size, they have very few predators, consisting of large cats and crocodiles. There most dangerous predators are humans. These animals are are an endangered species due to the extreme amounts of illegal poaching and habitat loss. There population has dramatically dropped from 17,000 in 1990 to somewhere between 3,000-5,000. In 1996 a small isolated population of gorillas was found living

Palma et al. (2011) observed the habitat use, behavior, and ecology of two particular groups of red howler monkeys in the Colombian Andes. Palma et al. conducted focal sampling in order to examine the activity patterns and diets of the two groups. The groups’ habitats were tracked by carefully marking trees, and the howler monkeys’ activity patterns were split into five categories: feeding, moving, resting, social activities, and other. The howler monkeys’ diets were recorded by noting the species and types of plant matter (i.e., fruit, immature fruit, mature leaf, young leaf, flower, or bark) consumed by individual monkeys.

The second plan is the “Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of Western Lowland Gorillas and Central Chimpanzees 2015–2025” by the IUCN, which was implemented in 2014. The plan addresses the species specific threats and the recommended actions. It also looks at different priority sites and site specific actions. Furthermore, the plan gives an overview of the research that has been done concerning gorillas and chimpanzees.

There are several world changing events happening right now. However, many of these events are either forgotten or rarely discussed. One of these “forgotten” events is the deforestation of the rainforests. Rainforest deforestation primarily started in the 1970’s, but has since increased. Up until recently, deforestation of rainforests was seldom talked about despite how much it has affected the world. Rainforest deforestation needs more attention because it has occurred for many decades despite the environmental damage, the rainforest is important for the economy, food, and medicinal purposes, it has many adverse effects such as climate change, and there are several projects to reduce deforestation.

Forest clearing in Brazil has already claimed casualties, but the animals lost to date in the rainforest region are just one-fifth of those that will slowly die out as the full impact of the loss of habitat takes its toll. "For now, the problem is along the arc of deforestation in the south and east where there is a long history of forest loss,” said Dr. Jose Manuel Ochoa-Quintero, “we expect most of the species there to go extinct, and we'll pick up more extinction debt along the big, paved highways which are now cutting into the heart of the

The monkey’s populations are jaguars and mostly pythons. If they were removed, because of monkeys resulting to have no predators, the monkey’s population will increase rapidly while fruit and leaves of trees will lose. But, there are limit amount of food in the rainforest, so if there were increase population, a lot of monkeys will die out because of no food left for them to eat. We also have to think about the other consumers that also eat the same food. Therefore, monkey’s population will go up and down because of the food available so as the others (macaws, fruit bats and

Deforestation is defined as the intentional or natural clearance of forests on a massive scale, often resulting in damage to the quality of the land and adverse environment effects. () Today forests still cover roughly 30% of the worlds land area however this number is sure to dwindle down due to the loss of 46-58 thousand square miles annually, equivalent to approximately 48 footballs fields every minute.” (WWF) The decline in trees translates for loss of habitat and homes for the millions of exotic creatures which call rainforests for example the Amazon, home. The Amazon alone is home to more than two-thirds of the 1.4 million species known to man however this is not even close to the extent of the wealth the drizzly rainforest has to offer. (Rothbard, David and Craig Rucker) Species who’s habitats are threatened by deforestation are often unable to prosper in the small forested acres left behind. Therefore species become vulnerable to trophy hunters or poachers causing numbers to begin to dwindle, some eventually succumbing to extinction. Even a lighter non commercial local deforestation can result in extinctions due to many unique species living in small isolated parts of the rainforests across the globe. (WWF) According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) affected species includes: giant pandas, tigers, rhinos, orangutans, Asian elephant, many species of apes like the gorilla and the Amur leopard (WWF).

Rainforests are being destroyed at an astounding rate. According to the National Academy of Science, at least 50 million acres a year are lost, “an area the size of England, Wales, and Scotland combined, “All the primary rainforests in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Haiti have been destroyed already.” In addition, the rainforests of the Ivory Coast have almost been completely logged. Areas such as the Philippines and Thailand lost over 50% of their rainforests by 1985. Along with the landscape being massively changed, major consequences arise for plant and animal species as a result of deforestation. These animals have adapted millions of years to live in certain

Increasingly there is a need to conserve global tropical habitats as it is currently estimated that 45% of all carbon is stored in the forests in terrestrial habitats (Garcia-Ulloa and Pin Koh, 2016). Therefore, there is a need for international cooperation. Recently at the United Nations Paris Climate Change Convention in 2015, 195 countries agreed to a global climate change pact. In this the countries agreed to reduce their carbon emissions to limit the amount of global warming to 2C above pre-industrial levels (Fawcett et al., 2015). As a result of this agreement the use of Payment for Ecosystem Services are likely to become more widespread by governments of forest-rich countries wishing to lower their carbon emissions. This may encourage local people to benefit from preserving and reforesting habitats in the tropics which would be beneficial for primate conservation.